By Suzy Powell

Anyone directly involved in the wedding ceremony is known as the bridal party or wedding party. The bridal party may include some or all of the follows: bride, groom, ushers, groomsmen, matron of honor, bridesmaids, flower girl, page boy, ring bearers. Each person traditional have different roles to play, and usually the Best Man has the most duties to perform.

The bride of course is the woman who is about to be married, and the term can be used if she has just been married. The groom or bridegroom is the man who will be married. Weddings follow many traditions which vary from culture to culture and country to country.

One of the most important traditions for the bride is the wearing of a gown and sometimes a long train. She may also wear a veil and carry a bouquet of flowers. In the western world the bride usually wears something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue as the saying goes.

A bridegroom or grooms clothing on the day in the western world is a formal suit and servicemen may marry in their military uniform. A formal suit may be a morning suit for the ceremony followed by a tux in the evening.

The bridesmaids are members of the brides wedding party. Usually bridesmaids are young ladies and normally are close friends or sisters. Bridesmaids attend to the bride on the day of the wedding ceremony.

The head bridesmaid is known as the Matron of Honor if she is married or chief bridesmaid if she is unmarried. In the United Kingdom, the Maid of Honor originally referred to the female attendant of a queen. The Matron of Honor is the female equivalent of the best man.

The activities of the Matron of Honor may be as many or as varied as she allows the bride to ask of her. They usually include duties at the wedding ceremony, such as acting as an official witness to the marriage, organization of the wedding itself and the invitations, organize the hen party, also known as a bachelorette party.

Adult bridesmaids over the age of 18 may be legal witnesses who sign the marriage license after the ceremony. If there is a reception after the wedding, the maid of honor may be asked to offer a toast to the newlyweds.

A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the bridegroom in a wedding ceremony. The term groomsman is more common in the United States, and usher is more common in Britain. Usually the groom selects his closest friends and relatives and it is considered an honor. One of the groomsmen will be best man.

The duties of the groomsmen are to help guests find their places before the ceremony and to participate in the wedding ceremony ensuring that everyone is comfortable.

The best mans duties are plentiful and include the following:
1.Arranging the Stag Night or Bachelor party which traditionally was held the night before the wedding, but now this practise is frowned upon.
2. Ensuring that the groom arrives on time to the wedding venue, dressed properly and sober.
3. Issuing of buttonholes and Orders of Service, although he may delegate to the ushers.
4. Keeping wedding rings safe and presenting them to the vicar when required at the service.
5. Witnessing the signing of the register.
6. Organization of the Groomsmen and Ushers.
7. Church fees payments on behalf of the groom.
8. Escorting the matron of honor or chief bridesmaid down the church aisle.
9. Arranging transport from the ceremony to the reception and sometimes decoration of the wedding car.
10. To make Best man toast at the reception.
11. Organizing clothing and changing areas for the bride and groom at reception and if required for honeymoon departure.
12. Arranging to have the wedding presents collected.
13. The old tradition of the first dance with the chief bridesmaid.
14. Generally ensuring that the wedding goes without a hitch and the guests are happy so that the bride and groom do not need to worry about it.

A flower girl is a participant in the procession. The flower girl walks in front of the bride during an entrance processional. She may spread flower petals on the floor before the bride or carry flowers. Once the processional is over, a young flower girl will sit down with her parents. If the ceremony will not be particularly long, an older child may prefer to quietly stand at the altar with the other attendants.

If the bride and groom choose, they may have more than one flower girl, particularly if the bride has several young relatives and does not want to leave any of the girls out. This practice is more common at British royal weddings, or at Victorian-themed weddings.

The flower girls male equivalent is the page boy who is a young male attendant at the wedding ceremony. The page boy usually carries the brides train.

A ring bearer is not always selected. Usually the best man will carry the rings safely up the aisle. The ring bearer would carry a large satin pillow on which imitation rings are sewn, but real ones can be tacked on, and again its just a matter of choice.

Ring bearers are usually between five and ten years of age and may be male or female. If the couple have had children before marriage, then one of their own children may be the ring bearer.

It is traditional for the happy couple to show thanks and appreciation to the wedding party by presenting each person with a thank you gift. Parents of the bride and groom are usually given a gift also. Traditional gifts for the male party are pocket watches and tankards whilst the females are given trinket boxes, crystal or glass keepsakes.

Wedding thank you gifts are even more special when they are personalized with the persons name, role, alongside date and location of wedding.

About The Author

Wedding thank you gifts including Bridesmaid gifts and Best Man gifts available with free personalization from http://www.blinkgifts.com/

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